Counting Petals Instead of Thorns
by TheodoreNott
Summary: Hermione expected to spend her summer sightseeing Greece. She never thought that she'd find love.


Counting Petals Instead of Thorns

**Twin Exchange Challenge**

**April 2012**

**Prompt: Flowers**

**Pairing: Hermione Granger/Leo Valdez**

**Quote: "Who understands these things?"**

**Summary: Hermione expected to spend her summer sightseeing Greece. She never thought that she'd find love.**

Hermione Granger stared in awe at the ancient structures before her. The statues of ancient Greek gods were exceptionally realistic. She took out her muggle camera and took as many pictures as wizardly possible. She couldn't wait to tell Ron and Harry about how beautiful Greece was. She wasn't sure if they would be interested or not, but she was excited to tell them anyway.

It was the summer before Hermione's sixth year at Hogwarts. Her parents had decided to go on a sight seeing trip to Greece for two weeks. Hermione was overjoyed by this decision, and could not wait to see all of the famous ancient buildings.

Hermione took notice of the ancient stones of the buildings and how amazing it was that the buildings were still in such great condition. She was in the middle of analyzing an ancient Greek mosaic when she heard loud laughter and talking behind her.

She turned around and rolled her eyes. A large group of teens about her age had come to the scene. Hermione expected that they must've been on some sort of travel camping trip. The group didn't seem to have any adults with them, though, which Hermione thought was a little peculiar.

One of the members of the group walked over to where Hermione was standing. The boy stared at the mosaic with a puzzled, yet fascinated expression. The boy was about Hermione's height with curly black hair. He was Latino and looked about the same age as Hermione. His pointed ears reminded Hermione of Dobby. His face, on the other hand, reminded her more of Fred and George's: perpetually cheerful and devious.

The boy commented on the fine art before him, " Amazing."

Hermione's eyes grew two sizes in shock. She thought she was the only one that was interested in ancient Greek objects.

" Yeah," Hermione said in agreement, trying not to sound surprised.

" It's crazy how this is all still in such good condition." The boy commented nonchalantly, not taking his eyes off of the mosaic.

Hermione replied, " I know, it really is. It can tell us so much about how people were back then, too."

The boy grinned at Hermione, " I know! I didn't think many people appreciated this stuff like I did," He laughed, " Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Leo."

She smiled, " I'm Hermione,"

Leo grinned amiably, " Ooh cool name."

Hermione laughed, " Yeah, it's definitely original."

" Original's always better," Leo replied good-naturedly. He heard a few people from the group behind him call his name. He smiled, " Sorry, I should get going,"

" Oh, bye," Hermione said.

" I'll see you around at some of the other artifacts? We'll probably be the only ones there," He chuckled as he walked away.

Hermione waved goodbye. She was pleasantly surprised by Leo's friendliness. She wondered if she would see him again. It would be nice to talk about this stuff with someone who cared as much as she did.

Hermione caught up with her parents and spent a day full of more fascinating artifacts. She didn't see Leo or any of his friends at any of the other sites. Hermione didn't really care too much though, she was happy enough alone.

Once the Grangers had seen all of the sites they could take in for the day, they returned to their hotel in satisfied exhaustion. Hermione was so tired from all the walking that she almost didn't notice Leo in the hotel lobby.

She waved politely at him. He smiled and walked forward, much to Hermione's surprise.

" Hey!" Leo called with a surprised expression on his face.

" Hi," Hermione said tiredly.

" Are you staying here?" he asked her.

" Yeah, why are you?" She asked.

Leo nodded, " Yeah, my uh camp group is staying here."

" That's cool. I'll see you around then?" Hermione asked, feeling too tired for small talk.

Leo nodded and began to walk away. He thought better of it, turned around, and walked back up to her. " My camp group is going to some Greek festival on Saturday night. You're welcome to come, that is if you want to."

Hermione didn't know what to say. She thought that the boy's fascination in her was kind, yet a little strange. They had only just met. He didn't seem like any bad wizard or anything, though. He also was with his camp, so they wouldn't be alone. She was sure that her parents wouldn't mind.

" Sure, that sounds fun, thanks." Hermione said.

Leo's smile grew two sizes, " Great! I'll see you there! It's on the dock by the beach."

Hermione responded, " Sounds good, thanks."

Leo smiled as he walked away, " See you at seven."

Hermione's parents were happy that she made a friend. They seemed pretty confident that Leo wasn't some stalker. Just in case, they decided that they would go to the festival too. They assured Hermione that they wouldn't stay with her, but that they didn't want her to be completely alone with dozens of strangers.

Two days later, Hermione and her parents arrived at the dock at 7 o'clock sharp. Many more people were there, and most of them looked around Hermione's age. She stood on her tippy toes, looking for Leo. She didn't have to though, he found her. He tapped Hermione on the shoulder suddenly. Hermione had a hard time pretending that she wasn't scared.

Leo greeted her, " Hey! Glad you could make it!"

Hermione replied, " So am I. I have always wanted to go to an original Greek festival,"

" Yeah, they're pretty cool," Leo stated, " I'm thirsty…wanna get a drink?"

" Sure," Hermione said as she followed Leo to the drinks table.

Leo poured her a glass of lemonade and a glass of soda for himself. He asked her, " So, what places have you seen so far?"

Hermione thought, " Well after I saw you, we went to the Parthenon and then the original theater and then we took a short ferry ride. The day after that we went to the Acropolis and the Delphic oracle. And today we went to the Minoan Palace."

Leo asked, " How was the Parthenon?"

Hermione recalled, " It was good, the statues of the gods were so realistic,"

Leo smirked, " I was impressed that you knew about this ancient Greek stuff. "

Hermione nodded, " I was too with you. Who knows these things? Except for us really." She laughed, "What about you, what have you been doing?"

Leo recalled, " Not too much, basically just stayed at the beach the past couple days. We have this big project that we have to work on there."

Hermione wondered, " What kind of project?"

Leo waved the question away, " Oh, its nothing. Just some camp thing. So, where you from?"

Hermione replied, " England."

Leo guffawed, " I guessed that from your accent,"

Hermione joked, " And I am guessing you're American then,"

Leo laughed. Hermione asked him a question that had been bothering her for a while, " Leo, is there a reason why you're being so friendly around me? Is it an American thing?"

Leo blushed, " I was wondering if you thought I was some stalker."

Hermione assured him, " No, no, it's not that. I was just wondering because…well no one's ever been so friendly towards me."

" They don't know what they're missing."

Hermione blushed. She was not used to such a sudden and frank compliment. She whispered, " Thank you,"

" I'm being friendly because you seem nice." Leo said, "There are not many girls that spend their time thinking about ancient Greek architecture. I figure that if I meet one, I should try to become friends with her."

" Thanks," Hermione smiled. Feeling a bit uncomfortable from the compliments, she changed the subject, "So what kind of camp are you in? Is it just a regular summer camp or…"

Leo stumbled with an answer," It's a…um _elite_ camp. For people who want to study ancient Greeks."

Hermione didn't know why he was so aloof whenever his camp was brought up. She wasn't going to ask any further questions about it, though, because she didn't want to make him any more uncomfortable.

Leo asked, " So, how long will you be in Greece?"

" Two weeks. You?"

" Depends," Leo thought, " it depends on how much we get done with our project and how long it takes."

At that moment, a song came on from the dance floor behind the two of them. It was a pop song that Hermione liked. She never really talked about her favorite muggle music because none of her friends listened to it. She remarked, " I like this song,"

Leo's mischievous grin grew wider, " Want to dance?"

Hermione stepped back, " Oh, no, no, no! That's okay."

Leo chortled, " Oh, come on! I'm sure you're a great dancer!"

Hermione smiled nervously, " Oh, I'm really not."

" Lies!" Leo stated incredulously, " I don't believe that for a second. Don't they have dances at your school?"

" Um, yes, but only one."

Leo placed his hand gently on Hermione's, " Then that means you have even more experience than me. So, if you stink, which is highly doubtful, I will stink even more."

Hermione laughed reluctantly, " Fine."

Leo cheered happily as Hermione and him walked over to the dance floor. Leo immediately started to spread his arms out as if he was trying to take flight and then flailed his legs around in a goofy pattern. Hermione was laughing so hard that she was having a hard time dancing.

" Leo! You don't have to do this! Everyone's staring at you," Hermione managed to say between her roars of laughter.

Leo smiled broadly, " They're just wondering how a guy like me managed to get a girl like you to dance with him, at least I know I am,"

Hermione's cheeks reddened. She looked around at the staring and laughing crowd, then at the happy Leo. She shrugged and started to dance just like Leo was dancing. She didn't care about being embarrassed or laughed at because being happy with him seemed so much more important.

Leo and her danced and laughed for hours. They finally stopped dancing when Hermione saw her parents gesturing towards her that it was time to go.

Hermione sighed, " I have to go,"

Leo declared, " I need to go back too. We can walk together."

Hermione smiled, " I'd like that."

The two of them walked slowly behind Hermione's parents. Pretty soon, Mr. and Mrs. Granger were already back at the hotel. Hermione didn't feel nervous with Leo all alone though, she felt a certain safety with him that felt foolish yet exciting.

As the two walked, they laughed about how crazy their dancing was. They chuckled and talked the whole way back to the hotel. Leo held the door open for Hermione and they headed upstairs to their rooms.

Hermione asked, " Why'd you dance like that anyway?"

Leo looked confused, " What'd you men?"

" Why did you dance so crazily?"

" Why not?" Leo asked as the two filed into the elevator, " It's more fun that way, even if people are staring."

" Some people wouldn't like being laughed at," Hermione observed.

" True, but it seems to me that my own happiness is more important than the acceptance of others. Besides, getting everyone to accept you is much harder than making yourself happy."

" I've never thought of it that way," Hermione said.

A brief silence followed this. Hermione stole anxious glances at Leo as the elevator traveled up to her floor. As the elevator doors opened, Leo stated, " I'll walk you to your room."

" You don't have to do that," Hermione protested.

" But I want to. I'll take any chance to spend more time with you," Leo smiled sheepishly. He seemed uncomfortable with his sudden compliment, but proud at the same time.

" No one's ever been so open to compliment me before," Hermione said.

" No one's ever had the brains, or the guts, to. I'll admit, I wasn't sure if I did. But I've been nervous lately, what with this whole camp thing. It's nice having someone that doesn't expect anything from me. That way, they're just pleasantly surprised," Leo looked into Hermione's light brown eyes, "at least I hope you are."

Hermione stared back at Leo's dark eyes. _This is crazy, _she thought, _I just met this boy, he's just trying to get me to kiss him. He doesn't actually feel anything for me._ Hermione stared at Leo, trying to find any sign of disingenuousness, but couldn't find any. His eyes seemed to be yearning to look at her. His lips looked eager to speak to her, while his ears were patiently waiting for her response.

Hermione whispered, " I am."

A broad smile grew on Leo's face. He leaned in as his lips parted. Hermione waited for fear and worry to overwhelm her and stop it from happening, but nothing came. Nothing except his lips against hers.

Hermione and Leo spent a lot of time together that summer, or at least as much as they could. Leo was busy with what he would only describe as "camp stuff" and Hermione had to assume that he didn't feel ready to talk about it with her. Her time in Greece was ending soon, though, and she didn't know when he would be ready. She decided that he didn't have to tell her, figuring that she had secrets she wasn't telling him also.

Aside from Leo's "camp stuff," the two of them spent all their time together. They went out almost every night, each date ending with Hermione's jaw hurting from laughing so much. Hermione's parents were glad that she had finally found someone that made her really happy. They once told Hermione that they never saw her smile like she did when she was with Leo.

Hermione felt like she was in a daydream with Leo. She thought nothing bad would happen to them because too much good things were going on. He made her forget about all of her worries, all of her fears. He turned embarrassment into amusement and made dreary, rainy days feel like hot, summer ones.

The last day of Hermione's vacation seemed to smack her unforgivingly in the face when she woke up. She had spent so long pretending that it wouldn't come that she felt completely downtrodden when it did. Their taxi would be leaving at 2 o'clock, and Leo was going to meet her beforehand.

He was standing in the lobby when Hermione came down with her luggage. His melancholy face turned upside down into a gleeful grin when he saw Hermione. He embraced her in a large hug. They walked outside of the hotel and waited for the taxi.

Leo mused, " I wish you didn't have to leave."

Hermione nodded, " So do I. I've never felt two weeks go by faster."

The taxi pulled up. The driver got out of the car and heaved all of the luggage into the trunk. Hermione's parents got into the car while they made a face at Hermione that said, " Make it quick, but make it great."

Leo turned suddenly to Hermione, " You'll write to me, right?"

Hermione agreed, "Of course! All the time!"

With a great big smile, Leo kissed Hermione. She blushed and whispered, "Leo, thank you for making these two weeks some of the _happiest_ ones of my life."

"Thank you for letting me," Leo replied.

Hermione knew she had to say her last words now, and that they had to count. " Leo, I've never met anyone that makes me feel as relaxed and happy as I am with you. I'll never forget you."

Leo smiled, " I've never met a genius that has a heart bigger than her mind. I'll never forget you either."

Hermione kissed Leo as she whispered for the very first time in her life, " I love you."

Leo kissed her back, " I love you too."

Hermione waved goodbye, trying not to cry as she opened the car door.

"Wait!" Leo shouted as he took something out of his pocket.

Hermione went back to him. Leo took out a small, light pink rose. He placed it gently in her hand, "Keep this."

Hermione felt the soft petals of the rose and noticed that it didn't have any thorns. Leo explained gently, " It's supposed to be us." Hermione stared at Leo in wonder. He elaborated, " I'd like to think that our time together was short so that we'd never have a problem together. The rose has no thorns. It's beautiful and untouched, and bloomed not too long ago. If you water it though, it'll grow. Thorns will too, but none as large as the petals. And neither will any of the problems that come to us. Just promise me that you'll water that flower and let it grow."

A small tear trickled down Hermione's check, " I promise, Leo."

Leo kissed Hermione for the very last time. She sat back down in the cab with the rose in her hand. She waved goodbye at the shrinking figure of Leo. She waved until he was too small to see anymore. Hermione didn't let it bother her, she would always keep him in her sight, no matter how far apart they were from each other.

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